O sodales

The tune of the hymn is reputed to have been composed by seminarians fleeing before the armies of Napoleon in the early 19th century.

The Latin text of the hymn as it has been passed down over the years was composed by one of the earliest seminarians of the college, Gustave Limpens, in 1862.

It reflects the fraternity felt at the college at the time, as well as the seminarian's missionary zeal to go to North America.

The song composed by Limpens was passed down over the years at the American College, until it gradually became accepted as its signature hymn.

At the closing banquet, it is the tradition of the college that, during the singing of O Sodales, the graduating students stand on chairs facing west toward North America.